The present invention relates to a method for speeding up the creation of implementable furniture layouts based on a system of furniture products.
It is the usual practice in designing a furniture layout for an office, a hospital, a cafeteria, or any other space which is to be occupied to begin with a blank sheet of paper on which the outer dimensions of the area to be furnished are laid out. The designer then uses paper cutouts or writes directly on the paper layout in attempting to efficiently design the furniture for the intended purpose. In starting this way, much time is lost getting started. The designer must start from scratch or from previous experience or drawings that have been saved from other jobs. As the design progresses, the designer is required to know what piece of furniture can be attached to another or stand next to another. He also has to be aware of the small hardware pieces and electrical elements that have to fit together for a complete furniture layout. If, in the course of the design, the designer wishes to change the shape of one or more of the pieces of furniture, he or she is required to start with a new sheet of paper if writing directly on the paper. If the designer is using paper cutouts, he or she has to change the piece and then see if all the other pieces will fit with the changed piece. In the course of making all these changes, the designer has to be constantly conscious of the fact that what is designed has to be within the catalog of the supplier or manufacturable. p Some of the aforementioned steps can be carried out on a computer, however, the designer is still dealing with the same type of problems. The designer is merely substituting a CRT screen for a blank sheet of paper.
The designer accomplishes nothing if, when the task is completed, the pieces of furniture do not exist in the size and shape called for in the drawing or cut-out plan. Also, when the design is completed, a lengthy process is required to count and determine what parts are required to build the furniture design. The designer must then go through the entire catalog of furniture pieces specifying the color and finish required. It is obvious from the above description that it is an extremely difficult task to efficiently design a furniture layout in view of the many variables and numerous parts that have to be taken into consideration to complete the task.